Cullowhee could be home to new river park

A group working to beautify and solidify the concept of community in Cullowhee wants to build a riverfront park, tying in to state Department of Transportation plans to replace a bridge over the Tuckasegee River on Old Cullowhee Road in 2013.

The park would be multi-use, and include picnic tables, public beach access to the river, and a boat launch, said Taylor Bennett, who serves on a River Park subcommittee for CuRvE, a Cullowhee revitalization group.

“They’re very receptive to suggestions, and they’d love to work with us,” Bennett said of recent discussion with transportation officials.

He added there are concerns about who would pay for building the park and who would provide ongoing maintenance. Discussions are also taking place between CuRvE and Duke Energy, which has a dam in the area. Duke’s land holdings on the shore around the dam are being eyed for inclusion in the park.

The park update came last weekend during a public meeting of CuRvE at the Cullowhee Café. About 15 people attended, including Jack Debnam, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and a Cullowhee property owner.

Data from the 2010 U.S. Census showed Cullowhee is now the largest township in Jackson County — even larger than Sylva — which could bolster local efforts to revitalize the once-bustling community, Debnam said.

In the 1970s, some 40 businesses operated successfully in the community, which now has just a handful open. Cullowhee saw its vigor drained when a new highway passage to Western Carolina University was built, siphoning motorists away from what’s now dubbed by some as “old” Cullowhee.

Debnam, after noting that Cullowhee is now the fastest-growing and largest township in the county, said “Cullowhee is now a force to be reckoned with, as far as population goes.”

That growth hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last year, before WCU Chancellor John Bardo announced he’d retire July 1, nearby incorporated Forest Hills agreed to consider annexing university land. This would be used to further Bardo’s vision of a town center for WCU, which it currently lacks.

The chancellor developed and spearheaded the possibility of developing 35 acres on WCU’s main campus. Key to the Town Center moving forward is whether the Village of Forest Hills also moves forward, namely by agreeing to annex land where the Town Center would go.

Cullowhee is not currently incorporated as a town. As a result, stores and restaurants can’t sell beer, wine or liquor drinks. That has proved a major stumbling block in attracting commercial ventures typically associated with a college town. If Forest Hills annexed land around the university, however, it could make alcohol sales legal, in turn paving the way for development of the Town Center.

The effort seems to have lost momentum with both Bardo’s impending retirement and the university’s budget woes. WCU could lose as much as $8.6 million in the wake of a state budget deficit totaling about $2.3 billion. Though the creation of a Town Center is not directly connected to those money issues, attention of campus administration has been riveted on dealing with the cuts.

Blake, co-chair of CuRvE, told The Smoky Mountain News that the group has intensified its focus on the original goal of revitalizing Cullowhee. What happens in regard to WCU and Forest Hills, if anything, he said, would be dealt with and considered as the situation developed — if it develops.

In the meantime, the possibility of building a riverfront park remains a viable possibility, group members said.

“This could make this area a destination for the region and beyond,” said Mary Jean Herzog, the other co-chair of CuRvE.

Tentative plans call for a sidewalk from WCU to the park area, and for the installation of street lighting.

Debnam urged group members to think about where their efforts fit into a greenways master plan for the county. Jackson County is working on acquiring right-of-way for a greenway that would follow the Tuckasegee River, connecting Cullowhee, Forest Hills, Webster, Sylva and Dillsboro.

He also pushed for the group to actively solicit the participation of other Cullowhee landowners in CuRvE, something group members said they would follow-up on.